Where editors and publishers discuss writing flash fiction, short stories, poetry, and novels.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Six Questions for Makyla Curtis, Editor, Potroast

Potroast is a biannual literary magazine of original short-fiction, poetry, illustration, photography and art, with a focus on work which is exploratory and experimental. Read the complete guidelines here.

SQF: Why did you start this magazine?

MC: Potroast was started by Ya-wen Ho. I don’t want to speak for her, but I expect it was because she wanted to create and develop a space for experimental and innovative work to find a readership.

This is certainly the reason why we continue to publish the magazine!

SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?

An awareness of how the work appears on the page because of our focus on interdisciplinary crossover of genre and visual arts versus literature. Image based work also needs to consider itself as a literary work, and vice versa for text based work.

Adherence / acknowledgement of the theme.

SQF: What common mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a submission?

MC:

Ignoring the theme

Giving your work the same title as the theme. (i.e our last theme was Home, we received 25 submissions titled ‘Home’ and 5 titled ‘Home is where the heart is’) It gets really boring after a while.

Not taking into account the types of work we print (experimentation & innovation)

SQF: Do you provide comments when you reject a submission?

MC: We think rejection is hard enough to receive without having to receive a critique at the same time. However, we are more than happy to provide comments and critique if you’d like it, just ask.

SQF: Based on your experience as an editor, what have you learned about writing?

MC: How hard it is to move away from cliché and create something new and innovative.

SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

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In response to a post on my personal blog, a reader suggested I publish a series of interviews in which editors "list, in excruciating details, all that each editor desires in his/her stories." Wow. What a great idea. Not only does this provide authors with specific information about what editors are looking for in the submissions they receive, it offers editors a venue for advertising their publications and getting the word out about what, in their opinion, constitutes "good writing."
If you: 1. have a question or comment, 2. would like to suggest a publication, agent, or publisher for me to contact, or 3. are an editor, publisher, or agent and would like to participate in this project, please contact me at sixquestionsfor [at] gmail[dot]com.